Mount Prospect Historical Society

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“Lucille Ball” Scheduled to Visit the Mount Prospect Historical Society

Leslie Goddard as Lucille Ball
Leslie Goddard as Lucille Ball

Leslie Goddard, a well-known and talented portrayer of historic women, will visit the Mount Prospect Historical Society’s historic Central Schoolhouse, 103 S. Maple St., at 1 p.m. on Saturday, February 15, 2025 for a first-person presentation on the life of comedienne Lucille Ball.

Attendees will enjoy tea, pastries and other treats during the presentation. 

In the 1950s, Lucille Ball captured the hearts of television audiences across the nation.  Her wacky hijinks and fearless enthusiasm kept thousands laughing.  Off-screen, she and her real-life husband Desi Arnaz launched their own television studio and pioneered new technologies.  But what does it mean when an on-screen legend clashes with her off-screen reality?

In this historic portrayal, historian and actress Leslie Goddard brings Lucy to life, paying tribute to both the true comic legend and the real woman behind the scenes.

Goddard is an award-winning actress and scholar who has been presenting history programs for more than 20 years.  She holds a Ph.D. from Northwestern University, specializing in American studies and U.S. history, as well as a master’s degree in theater.

A former museum director, she is the author of three books on history and currently works full-time as an author and public speaker, portraying memorable women from the past and telling historical stories so that lessons from the past are more entertaining, educational and inspiring.

The cost of the tea is $25 for Society members and $30 for non-members, plus an on-line handling fee. Take note that attendance is limited to 36 people, ages 18 and over. Advance registration is required and there are no refunds.  Visit www.mtphist.org/afternoon-teas/ to register.

Order Your Pandemic Books Today

When a terrifying new illness – COVID-19 – struck the United States in early 2020, the Directors of the Mount Prospect Historical Society responded by carefully documenting the local Mount Prospect “pandemic experience.”  

Now this incredible treasure trove of information is being printed in a hardcover, 180-page book for researchers and history lovers of the future.  Within the book you will find a wealth of photos and memories from fellow residents, neighbors and friends that illustrate this important moment in Mount Prospect’s history. 

There are stories about how restaurateurs to nurses to ministers to funeral directors continued to do their jobs, as well as how politicians, teachers and schoolchildren coped in one Midwestern community. The Society also received permission from The Daily Herald newspaper to reprint articles which dealt with local people and events, as well as state and national news about how the pandemic was being handled.

“This book is dedicated to making sure memories of this traumatic time in Mount Prospect never fade and will serve as a record of our shared experience,” Frank Corry, President of the Society, added.

Individuals may order it for their personal collections.  It will only be available to those who order by December 31, 2023 (with delivery in early 2024).  The cost will be $25 plus shipping.

Ordering is now closed. If you purchased a book and chose local pickup, you will receive an email when your order is ready. We anticipate orders being ready sometime in January.

Samuel “Sammy” Skobel

Samuel “Sammy” Skobel was an American roller derby skating star who opened a hot dog restaurant in Mount Prospect after his retirement from his sport.

Legally blind, Skobel was a derby star who was voted most valuable player in the league three times and inducted to the Roller Derby Hall of Fame in 1953. Skobel also held the world record for the fastest mile skated on a banked track – accomplished in 1958.

Sammy was born to Russian immigrants on April 26, 1926. His parents owned a grocery and meat market on Chicago’s Maxwell Street. 

An infection with scarlet fever at the age of four left him legally blind, with less than ten percent of his vision remaining. 

A track star at Crane Technical High School, he ran a 4:22 mile and was offered full scholarships to three universities, but those offers were rescinded when the schools learned he was legally blind. He had a hard time finding and maintaining a job after graduating from high school. In fact, he was denied a job in an electronics factory and got fired from a job repairing innertubes after just a few hours.

In 1945, Skobel tried out for the roller derby at the Chicago Coliseum but was rejected after the general manager of the Roller Derby watched him struggle to fill out the application with a magnifying glass. Instead, Skobel joined the roller derby working as a locker attendant, earning 50 cents per day.[ He worked in the center of the banked-track ring, memorizing the styles and outlines of the skaters. When he heard that the derby was holding tryouts in Chattanooga in January 1946, he traveled there by bus and was able to keep his low vision a secret during trials. He signed with the Brooklyn Red Devils in 1946, keeping his disability a secret for the first five years he played. Skobel would listen for the sound of an opponent’s skates coming up behind him, and if a skater was close he could see whether they were wearing stripes or certain colors.

In 1949, Skobel became the youngest team captain in the history of the sport. Skobel was traded to the Chicago Westerners in 1953, where he skated for twelve seasons. He skated for the IRDL Midwest Pioneers from 1964 to 1966. He had several nicknames throughout his career, including “Slammin'” Sammy Skobel and “Gunner” Skobel. 

Skobel was voted the league’s Most Valuable Player of the year three times during his skating career and was on 18 all-star teams. He was one of the first seven people inducted to the original Roller Derby Hall of Fame in 1953 and in 1958 set a world record fastest mile on a banked track, skating the mile in 2 minutes and 36 seconds.

By the end of his career, he was paid $80,000 each season. He skated his last game in May 1966, but would later serve as a consulting coach for the San Francisco Bay Bombers.

Skobel married his wife Acrivie (“Vee”) in 1952. They had two sons together, Sam Jr. and Stephen. 

After retiring from the roller derby, he opened Sammy Skobel’s Hot Dogs Plus in downtown Mount Prospect. He ran the restaurant from 1965 to 1989, when he sold it to a former employee. He also traveled as a motivational speaker, giving talks on “Creating a Positive Attitude for Life,” and advocated for other blind athletes. For instance, in 1971 he helped found the American Blind Skiing Foundation. 

In 1982, Skobel collaborated with a freelance writer to write his autobiography, titled Semka. The jacket described the book as the “story of a determined young blind man from his boyhood in Chicago’s Maxwell Street to a professional athletic career, setting a world speed skating record.”

Skobel died on June 9, 2018 at age of 92 in his home in Mount Prospect.